10-10-2017, 07:13 PM
I had a stimulating chat with the commendably helpful staff at Shield Batteries of Bishop's Stortford ("Battery Charged is the on-line division of Shield Batteries and we are the last independent manufacturers of batteries in the UK, as well as the manufacturer of hard rubber batteries").
No doubt 'old hat' to some, but if you've been wondering why your increasingly costly battery dies every couple of years the info below (slightly paraphrased from original text for your convenience) may be of interest - particularly as some among us may be just about to lock up the garage for the winter:
"We ship out via FedEx and the acid packs are generally shipped in a separate box from the battery itself.
A dry-charged battery is not live, so theoretically it can be put on the shelf and left for a very long time. If you plan to do this, bearing in mind most sheds and garages tend to be a little bit dusty and full of spiders it would be a good idea to keep it wrapped against the elements.
Once the acid is added to the battery, it is then live and, as you are aware, will self discharge and will need to be kept charged.
Your best bet for that would be to have a 6V intelligent charger. When the car is not in use, you simply plug in and forget. The charger will kick in and out as and when the battery needs to be topped up.
In addition, keeping the battery topped up like this will keep sulphation at bay. Sulphation sets in when the battery is discharged and left / kept discharged (or not properly charged) – the sulphur that attaches itself to the lead plates crystallises and doesn’t reabsorb back into the electrolyte – thus compromising the battery.
The pitch cracking on the top of the battery is usually caused by the battery being allowed to sulphate, which causes the plates to expand; as the top of the battery is the weakest part the resulting damage is cracking in the pitch.
Extremes of temperature can also result in the pitch cracking, for instance if the vehicle is left in a warm garage during the summer which becomes very cold in winter."
"As a rule of thumb the higher the ampere-hour rating the better, however I take on board your comment regarding the Dynamo. If you are heavily discharging the battery you may have trouble re charging it with a Dynamo. Having read the e mail trail it sounds as though you are not placing heavy demands on the battery, so the Dynamo should be capable of keeping the battery charged whilst using the vehicle.
I note Alan’s comments relating to a smart charger & agree that would be the ideal way of maintaining the battery charge & health especially if you are not using the vehicle on a regular basis."
The key message here is if you hope for your battery to last a few years, don't allow it to go flat and stay flat while your car is 'lying fallow'. Hope this is of interest.
No doubt 'old hat' to some, but if you've been wondering why your increasingly costly battery dies every couple of years the info below (slightly paraphrased from original text for your convenience) may be of interest - particularly as some among us may be just about to lock up the garage for the winter:
"We ship out via FedEx and the acid packs are generally shipped in a separate box from the battery itself.
A dry-charged battery is not live, so theoretically it can be put on the shelf and left for a very long time. If you plan to do this, bearing in mind most sheds and garages tend to be a little bit dusty and full of spiders it would be a good idea to keep it wrapped against the elements.
Once the acid is added to the battery, it is then live and, as you are aware, will self discharge and will need to be kept charged.
Your best bet for that would be to have a 6V intelligent charger. When the car is not in use, you simply plug in and forget. The charger will kick in and out as and when the battery needs to be topped up.
In addition, keeping the battery topped up like this will keep sulphation at bay. Sulphation sets in when the battery is discharged and left / kept discharged (or not properly charged) – the sulphur that attaches itself to the lead plates crystallises and doesn’t reabsorb back into the electrolyte – thus compromising the battery.
The pitch cracking on the top of the battery is usually caused by the battery being allowed to sulphate, which causes the plates to expand; as the top of the battery is the weakest part the resulting damage is cracking in the pitch.
Extremes of temperature can also result in the pitch cracking, for instance if the vehicle is left in a warm garage during the summer which becomes very cold in winter."
"As a rule of thumb the higher the ampere-hour rating the better, however I take on board your comment regarding the Dynamo. If you are heavily discharging the battery you may have trouble re charging it with a Dynamo. Having read the e mail trail it sounds as though you are not placing heavy demands on the battery, so the Dynamo should be capable of keeping the battery charged whilst using the vehicle.
I note Alan’s comments relating to a smart charger & agree that would be the ideal way of maintaining the battery charge & health especially if you are not using the vehicle on a regular basis."
The key message here is if you hope for your battery to last a few years, don't allow it to go flat and stay flat while your car is 'lying fallow'. Hope this is of interest.